Optical Illusions
by Tonya
Summary: Harry and Luna bond over the Quibbler. [one-shot]


Title: Optical Illusions  
Author: Tonya (tigerlily1998hotmail.com)  
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nada. Zip. All characters belong to the uber talented JK Rowling.  
Pairing: Harry/Luna (friendship)  
Rating: G  
Summary: Harry and Luna bond over the Quibbler.

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"Try concentrating."

"I am!"

A pause. "Squinting normally helps."

"I tried that already."

"Perhaps you did it wrong?"

"I didn't realize there was a proper way to squint."

Harry sat in the middle of the Quidditch pitch, an upside down Quibbler in his hands. He squinted one eye and then the other as he focused on the photograph of ancient runes. He turned the paper at an angle, hoping that this would finally reveal to him what he'd been searching for for a good ten minutes now.

Finally, he sighed and glanced over at Luna who lay stretched out beside him. Her own Quibbler was open in front of her to an article that claimed to have new information on a goblin-Ministry conspiracy. She had long solved the mysterious rune puzzle, learning the secret spell hidden in its carvings.

"You could give me a hint, you know," Harry said as he watched her absently chew on her thumbnail.

Luna removed her hand from her mouth, glancing over her shoulder at him. "But that would take away your sense of accomplishment when you finally figure it out," she stated seriously.

He raised an eyebrow at her as she turned her attention back to her article. If he wasn't mistaken, he had seen the corners of her mouth twitch slightly as she had spoken—trying to hold in a smile of amusement.

Harry turned to the runes again and squinted.

This had become some form of monthly ritual for them, to sit in the middle of the quiet pitch and read the Quibbler together.

The first time had been accidental.

Harry had been feeling the need to escape the concerned looks of Ron and Hermione, and he had gone to the Quidditch pitch to be alone with his thoughts. However, he had stumbled upon Luna in the process. She sat by herself, peacefully reading from her most recent edition of the Quibbler. For some reason, he had decided to sit down beside her, and for the first time since he had come back to Hogwarts for his sixth year, he had had a semi-normal conversation with a not-so-normal person. They had discussed everything from their respective summers to interesting articles her father's paper had run in the recent summer months. Harry had learned that she did this sort of thing every time a new edition of the Quibbler arrived in her hands. Apparently, the Great Hall and even the Ravenclaw common room were too noisy and hectic for her to sit and enjoy her paper so she would come to the Quidditch pitch. She had offered to get him free copies (he was, after all, the reason for the increased subscriptions to the paper), and at first he had declined her offer. The Quibbler wasn't exactly something he thought he'd actually be able to read with a straight face, and he had been right. The articles were eccentric to say the least, but he had to admit that reading about goblin conspiracies and Heliopath sightings was much more entertaining than sitting in the common room reading the Daily Prophet. So after spending what had actually turned out to be a peaceful yet amusing afternoon sitting in the pitch, Harry had changed his mind and withdrew his previous rejection of the idea.

And after that day, their little ritual had begun.

Harry turned his Quibbler right-side up, closed his eyes for a moment to give them a rest, and then proceeded to turn the Quibbler upside down again.

"This is kinda like a Magic Eye," he said as he stared at the runes.

"A magic eye could probably help," Luna said, her gaze still focused on her own article. "I assume that would come in handy for many things really."

Harry looked at her over the edge of his Quibbler. "Huh?"

Luna looked up at him. "A magic eye," she stated airily. "Think of all the things it would be useful for. Not just reading ancient runes. Perhaps it could even help with schoolwork."

Harry stared at her for a moment before laughing and lowering his paper. "No, not a magic eye. It's just the name of this Muggle book, I guess you'd call it," he grinned, trying to explain this Muggle concept to Luna. "It's like a book of optical illusions. It has pictures with colors, and apparently if you stare at it long enough, you see things in it. Pictures."

Luna studied him with a tilt of her head before speaking. "You study a picture to see a picture?"

"Well, yeah."

"Well, that seems a bit silly," she replied after a moment. "Why not just place the picture you want to see on the page?"

Harry smirked and pointed at the picture of the runes. "Isn't this the same kind of thing?"

"In theory, yes, but the runes don't hide a second picture of runes. They hide an actual message."

He couldn't exactly argue with that point, even coming from someone like Luna Lovegood.

Harry turned his gaze back to the picture and tilted the paper at an angle again. "And that message would be what exactly?"

"That, you'll have to figure out on your own."

Harry glanced at her, and this time, he was certain he'd seen a slight smile on her face before she turned back to her own article. He smirked and turned his attention back to the picture, determined to find the message hidden in the runes.

He could definitely use a magic eye right about now.


End file.
